Alice- the girl who didn't need a catchphrase
by A-D-E-E-E-R
Summary: Alice was just average girl, working on the docks in Cardiff when a strange man in a pinstriped suit quite literally bumps into her. Now her life will go from being the laughing stock to the girl who will save your neck. Teeny Torchwood Crossover
1. Chapter 1

**Hey so this is our first fanfiction ever so... It's written by my best friend and I. We hope you like it!**

**R&R**

**Disclaimer: All rights go to BBC**

The comforting hum of the TARDIS engine startled the Doctor from his case of déjà vu. It was that time again where the power of the TARDIS needed to be replenished. That was how the Doctor ended up in the Welsh capital Cardiff. He had been there many times with his previous companions. All gone now. The Doctor shook his head in attempt to clear it. Thinking like that would get you nowhere.

He stroked the console fondly and headed out the door. He breathed in the salty sea air from the Bristol Channel and leant over the railings of the harbour. He thought back to the times he had been stood on that spot with his Rose. Beautiful Rose now trapped without him. He sighed and hung his head.

"Think of something happy," he muttered to himself.

His mind strayed to his other companions, that always made him happy. Brilliant Sarah Jane Smith whom he dumped back on Earth. Guilt. Jack, now wrong and bound to immortality. Guilt. He had promised each one that he wouldn't leave them. But the universe had other plans.

"Stupid universe," he mumbled under his breath. He almost heard the TARDIS berating him in his mind.

Deciding that happy thoughts were not getting him anywhere, he decided to wallow in self-pity and visit the restaurant that he had been to with Rose, Jack and Mickey in his ninth regeneration. Needless to say, the memories flooded back of his friends who he would never see again. He was so sick of being a Time Lord.

* * *

Alice sighed. Six hours of this God forsaken job with every other man staring at her like a piece of meat. And only five hours left. Excellent. She wiped her dishwater blonde hair from her sweaty forehead. Work at the docks wasn't all that it is cracked up to be. She didn't have much more time to ponder on this however as a rusty old banger of a boat came juttering to a stop near her feet. She groaned and reached for the boat with her rope calloused hands. They wrapped around the rope and pulled the boat with expert strength and tied it around the cleat. The woman on the boat shot her a grateful smile and hopped off with her husband. Alice shook her head when the woman's husband openly gawped at her when his wife's back was turned. It wasn't like she was the only dock worker in the world! She was quite pretty but nothing special. At least that is what she thought. She was small for her age of nineteen and her hair was shoulder length and spikey. She turned around to the sound of yet another wolf whistle from one of her extremely mature colleagues.

"Get a life!" she shouted back to them. This sent a round of crude laughter around their little gang. She gritted her teeth and emitted a low growl from her throat.

Five painstakingly long hours later, Alice threw down the last rope and ran home. She lived about half a mile away from the docks and often enjoyed her runs. It gave her time to contemplate the origins of the universe. Yeah, she was deep like that.

She sat down in her arm chair and picked up her favourite book, Harry Potter to drown her sorrows in Hogwarts. She soon drifted off into the abyss

Alice was startled awake by her more-than-annoying alarm clock blaring out its ridiculous tune at the ungodly hour of 7 o'clock. She groaned and propelled the wailing object at her wall and stared at the spot where it had hit every single morning for 14 years. The paint was well and truly demolished and the wall was beyond repair. How the clock was still working was a mystery pondered by Gods. _Maybe it's just persistent to make my life a misery? _ She thought bitterly.

She swung her legs over the covers and threw open her red satin curtains and blinding light filled the room. Alice started to get ready for just a normal day at the docks. Little did she know, that this was going to be the complete opposite of normal.

**So that is it. We know that it is short but this was only the prologue. The next chapters will be longer, promise!**

**Please review, we are both young writers and we appreciate anything that could help us! **

**x**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: all rights go to the BBC, we only own Alice... unfortunately... no Alice no offence intended! Sorry! Alice please come back! We will buy you cookies! Good Girl. **

**A/N- Sorry it has been so long, we were writing other chapter.**

**Abby- It was all your fault.**

**Emmy- I ran out of poptarts this morning.**

**Abby- how does running out of your favourite breakfast confectionery affect our fanfiction?**

**Emmy- So many. Some people won't understand that joke.**

**Abby- yeah, me for a start.**

**Both- Lets get on with it before I burst blood vessel! **

The Doctor spent the night immersed in the TARDIS library, still stationary in Cardiff. He tried reading all sorts, history of the Sontarons, Dalek to the core, Secrets of the Vortex and even the fall of the Sycorax but he was just looking at the words. Not taking anything in. Just staring at each word and unable to read them as a sentence. Stars he was unable to fathom into constellations. Oh how he wished he could still belong to his constellation instead of being the lone star. The lost soul, clinging onto life not worth living. At long last, he fell into one of the rare sleeps he experiences but it was anything but peaceful.

He awoke with a painful ache in his neck and his glasses smashed on the floor. He leant down and winced when his knees groaned from being in one position for too long. His hand brushed against the broken glass and he audibly gasped as a shard pierced his skin. He cursed under his breath and discarded his task of cleaning up the fragmented glass while he held his bleeding hand. In an act of frustration, the Doctor kicked the wall and stubbed his toes on the hard concrete. He growled and stormed out of the TARDIS, shivering as the Cardiff air savaged his skin.

* * *

Alice hit the streets, weaving in and out of both locals and tourists alike. She was already five minutes late for work and it took at least twenty minutes from her current location. She accidentally nudged a man's shoulder in her rush.

"Watch it darlin', don't know what type of men you get around here," he growled suggestively. Alice was about to throw a sorry over her shoulder when she felt a hand grab her around her waist and a rough hand grab her face.

"Hey!" she shouted indignantly as she reeled back.

"Don't make a fuss now sweetheart-" he stopped short when a swift hand connected with his face and his right cheek flared up in pain.

Alice ran before he could react, she barely noticed the trail of blood coming from her lip.

The Doctor was thrown sideways when a blond haired young girl swept into his arm.

"Woah!" he shouted and he was startled when he saw that her face was flushed and a thin line of blood was falling down her face. _Oh great, I thought I was done with fraternizing with humans_ the Doctor thought as he made his way over to the girl tying up a boat.

"Hi… um… are you okay?" he stuttered awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.

Alice threw him a look,

"Why would you care?" she said rather rudely.

The Doctor shifted uncomfortably and shuffled his feet,

"No… I just… I saw… I mean- I wasn't looking… well I kind of noticed- observed… not in a weird way- that well… you're bleeding… so I thought that you… possibly… were hurt?" he finished lamely as he inwardly cringed. _What the hell was that sentence?_

Alice giggled, extremely out of character.

The Doctor looked at her confused,

"What's so funny?"

Alice just laughed harder.

"Seriously!" the Doctor said starting to get annoyed.

"Nothing, just, you are weird," she replied through her now subsiding laughs.

"What's wrong with weird?" asked the Doctor defensively.

"Nothing at all, I like weird," Alice smiled, "It makes life a lot more interesting. I am Alice by the way Alice Bowen."

"The Doctor," the Doctor replied holding out his hand.

Alice gave him a quizzical look.

"The Doctor?"

The Doctor nodded, "Just the Doctor."

"But… Doctor Who?"

It was the Doctors turn to chuckle before he stopped himself. He was beginning to feel that pull again, the pull that had attracted him to Rose and Martha and Jack and Donna and he couldn't afford to act on the pull, I mean look at what happened to the rest of them and stood there on that windy day looking at Alice's small, innocent face, her blonde hair blowing in her face, there was no way that he could put her in danger.

"Anyway, I have um… go to go… goodbye Alice Bowen," the Doctor muttered and turned on his heel before Alice could reply.

"Bye," she murmured to thin air. What a peculiar man. She shook her head and carried on tethering up the boats.

The rest of the passed uneventfully until, just as Alice was about to head home, a scuffle was heard from inside the boat that she was checking. Everyone was supposed to be gone.

"Hello?" she called from her position on the edge of the pier.

There was silence.

"Is anyone in there?"

Silence.

"Look, you aren't allowed to stay in while we do the servicing and we are closing up soon."

Silence.

She must have imagined it. The girl cleared her head and set off towards her office (shed).

"Hello?" came a voice.

She stopped dead in her tracks and wheeled around towards the boat, her heart pounding in her chest.

"Yes," she replied, trying to be brave.

"Hello?" the voice said again.

"Are you okay," Alice's voice wavered as she spoke, something wasn't right.

"Hello?" the voice repeated. It was a high pitched, squeaky voice and sounded like- oh god- a child!

"Do you need help?" Alice asked kindly, but in fact, she was panicking. What was a child doing alone on a foreign boat.

"Help?" it asked in the same tone as Alice had said it.

She sprang into action.

Tying the rope that was connected to the boat as tightly as she could around the post, Alice took a deep breath, and placed one foot onto the rope. Boy she was going to regret this. Quickly, she lifted the other so that she was precariously balanced on the thin rope.

One foot in front of the other.

One foot in front of the other.

One foot in front of the other.

The rope, gave an awful lurch and Alice's stomach clenched painfully as she looked down to try and steady herself. The sea beneath her seemed to whirl and spin as her throat started to close up with panic. Alice was terrified of heights.

"Hello?" came the child's voice again and that was all the incentive Alice needed to keep going. The rope was starting to climb up into the boat, making the ascent even harder as the steepness increased. Alice fell forwards onto her hands on knees as the rope was now almost vertical. She reached up until her fingers grazed the bow of the boat and grasped the metal. She heaved herself up and rolled over the sides into the boat, panting with exhaustion.

"Hello?" the voice reiterated.

"I am coming, where are you?" Alice asked weakly, her muscles felt like water. She kept her voice down in case anyone heard her. Trespassing on boats and suspected kidnapping would not go down well.

"Hello?"

Alice followed the frightened squeak into the cabin but found it completely empty. She frowned.

"Are you there?" she whispered as quietly as she could.

"There?" it said.

It was then that she realised that whoever this was, it was copying what she was saying.

"Hippo," she said.

"Hippo," it copied.

Why would it be doing that? She decided to push that thought away, her priority was getting to the child, and making sure that he or she was okay.

"Sunshine," she said. It of course copied her and she followed the sound of its voice to the centre of the cabin.

"Uh… Jelly," she murmured, struggling to find a word. The repeat came from underneath the floor. Alice frowned in confusion, how could- wait. Alice kneeled down on the floor and prayed that she was wrong. Her prayer was unanswered however, as when she peeled back the faded rug from the cabin floor, a grate had been welded in.

Suddenly, a great stench hit Alice's nose, making her retch. It smelt like rotting corpses. Alice braced herself, willing her stomach to settle down and reached for the crate. Just as her long, slender fingers touched the wood, a hand shot out and clasped around her neck.

Alice screamed and writhed, trying to be free of her attacker. She managed to elbow them in the stomach but they retaliated with a vicious blow to the kidney.

Blinded by pain, Alice reached out, trying to claw at the hands around her neck when she felt a sharp sting in her arm. She felt her eyes droop and she could only manage a feeble, "No…" before her legs gave way and her head connected with the floor of the deck with a sickening thud.

Alice awoke to a similar feeling to a hangover but ten times as worse. She could feel her head bleeding and all of her limbs ached. She groaned in pain and tried to roll over on the cold, hard floor. Her movement alerted the attackers to her consciousness and they rushed over to her and pinned down her arms.

Both were wearing balaclavas, only their cold, merciless eyes peeking through the fabric.

Alice felt panic rise in her chest. Why couldn't she have just left things alone? Now she was going to be killed most probably. If these people were kidnappers, they weren't going to just let her go were they? She had seen what was happening and if they let her go, she would go to the police and their scheme would be over, so would her life. Wait- what if she hadn't seen what she wasn't supposed to have. Well of course, what was done was done, she couldn't change that… but what if she didn't remember? Her bleeding head was evidence enough to convince the men that she had concussion. Who was to say that it hadn't caused some uh- memory loss? Well, it was the only plan she had.

_Better do this properly_ she thought.

Fake tears sprung to her eyes and she was eternally grateful that she went to stage school.

"How the hell did I get here?! Where the hell am I?! Who the hell are you?!" Alice wailed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The men glanced sideways at her. One of them tilted back Alice's head and looked into her eyes.

"Concussion. Don't think she even remembers," he said in a gruff voice.

"Shame, I was looking forward to killing this one," the other replied.

Alice's gut clenched at his words.

He bent down so they were nose to nose,

"You can go, but if you say anything to anyone, we will kill you, got it?" he snarled.

Alice nodded rapidly, regretting it when her vision swam from her wound. She scurried off the boat. Thankfully, the morons had pulled the boat further to the pier while she was unconscious in case they needed to quickly unmoor from the railings.

Alice ran off, keeping her hood over her face so that she didn't attract attention to her bleeding head. The blood loss, coupled with the running and panic was starting to take its toll. Her legs felt like they weighed a ton and she was starting to become dizzy. It was only another two minutes to her flat. She could do it.

Alice carried on in a sort of daze, half running, half walking. She was so out of it, that she didn't notice the tall man from earlier in a blue suit and brown trench coat, watching her from the street corner.

In fact, the Doctor had been watching her since he saw her run past him ten minutes ago. He had promised himself that he wouldn't interfere unless, he was really needed. He was concerned when he saw her sprint away, panic etched onto the little part of her face that was showing from under the hood. Therefore, the Doctor didn't see the gash on her forehead, or the fatigue showing in her eyes.

He knew he had sworn that he wouldn't see her again for own safety but he wouldn't be able to rest without knowing she was back home safely. She was a nice girl and he didn't want anything to happen to her.

He watched as she shakily put the key into the door and proceed up the stairs and disappeared out of sight.

The Doctor should have just left then. She was safe, he was supposed to be content then but something in his Time Lord instinct told him that something was very wrong. He tried to ignore it. But the feeling just got stronger and stronger as he finally gave up and walked over to the door and used his sonic screwdriver to open the door.

On the stairs was Alice, barely conscious and slumped against the wall, blood running down her face.

"Alice!" exclaimed the Doctor as he rushed over and kneeled next to her.

"Alice, can you hear me?" the Doctor asked, panic evident in his voice. Stupid apes messing with his emotions again.

Alice murmured and winced as her head rolled onto her shoulder.

"Right, I am going to pick you up and take you to your flat where I can patch you up, okay?" he told her gently.

She groaned as he lifted her effortlessly.

Her pounding head rested against his chest and her face buried into his suit. It occurred to her for a second why she was so trusting of this stranger but her thought was short lived as a jolt of pain was sent through her as the Doctor repositioned her in his arms, brushing against the inevitable bruise that was forming where the man had punched her.

"I'm really sorry Alice, but you're going to be fine, just hold on for a minute. Now which number is your flat?" he asked softly.

His reassurances and soothing voice were enough to calm her and she managed to whisper,

"Four," before she fell into a state of not-quite-unconsciousness-but-close-enough.

**A/N **

**Nice bit of Doctor/Alice fluff going on there eh? ;)**

**Please review. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I IMPLORE YOU!**

**x**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: We do not own Doctor Who. If we did, we would replace the cardboard cutout, with the real David Tennant!**

**Onwards!**

The Doctor carried Alice into her flat and gently laid her on her sofa (after moving at least nine books from it). He propped up her head on a cushion and ran into the kitchen to get what he needed.

Meanwhile, Alice was slowly becoming more and more aware of the pain in her head as the adrenaline wore off. That, coupled with the aching in her stomach made her groan in pain.

The Doctor heard her moan and hurried back into the living room with a bowl of water and a cloth.

"You are going to be just fine Alice, it's just a scratch," he reassured her, but the cut was actually quite deep.

He held the cloth to the wound to try and slow down the bleeding so that he could stitch it up but Alice kept squirming, the slightest pressure was agony. The Doctor tried to hold down her shoulder with one hand while keeping the other on her head but he needed his other hand to keep her head still. God he needed more hands!

"Alice, listen to me. I know it hurts but you need to stay still so I can make it better," the Doctor said firmly.

Alice seemed to notice the stern look in his eye and bit her lip to stop herself from crying out when the cloth was once again put over the cut.

"That's it see, you will be feeling better soon," he soothed, stroking her hair. He didn't know why he cared for her so much. She was little more than a child and she was on her own, just like him. Maybe that was why. She reminded him of himself.

Eventually, the bleeding seemed to have stopped or at least slowed down and the doctor removed the now blood stained cloth and inspected the injury. It wasn't as deep as he first thought, meaning it wouldn't require stitches.

"Good news Alice, it seems that you have got away without needing stitches," the Doctor smiled, earning himself a weak grin from the girl. The aching was somewhat subsiding and she was actually starting to feel better.

Alice started to pull herself up when the Doctor put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down.

"I'm fine!" she protested.

"Given that a few minutes ago, you were unconscious on a flight of stairs and have a pretty bad head injury, I would say that you are the opposite of fine," the Doctor said light-heartedly.

"Seriously, um… oh what was it…" she trailed off.

"Doctor?" he offered with a grin.

"_Doctor, _I am fine, a cup of tea and I will be right as rain," she told him.

The Doctor laughed out loud at her,

"How very British of you," he chuckled as he walked to the kitchen to make two drinks for them, dodging a pillow thrown by the Brit.

Alice took this opportunity to heave herself up off the sofa and stretch her legs. Her muscles were regaining some of her strength and she figured that if she showed this _Doctor _that she was well enough to stand, he would stop fussing over her.

Alice's plan would have worked if she hadn't accidently knocked over a stack of her books. The hardbacks tumbled onto the floor with a mighty clatter. Alice winced and strained her ears for any indicator that the Doctor had heard the commotion. She let out a relieved breath when the only sounds that could be heard were the tinkling of mugs and the running of water as the Doctor continued making the tea. She had gotten away with it.

"Lie back down Alice," the Doctor said from the kitchen.

Or not.

Alice grumbled under her breath, the words 'bloody' and 'git' being used quite often, but she did _sit _on the sofa. There was no way she was lying back down again; she hated feeling like a patient.

Alice picked up one of the books from the floor and opened it to her bookmark. She was immediately hit by the distinct smell of books. All book lovers will be familiar with the sensation of opening a book and inhaling the wondrous smell of the pages, and with just that smell, you know that this book is going to be brilliant as you lie back and simply melt into a realm of any description and live a life completely different from your own.

Alice was startled from her book by the sound of the Doctor placing her drink on the coffee table.

"What book are you reading?" he asked curiously as he settled on the sofa opposite.

"Richard Hannay. I have read it at least five times but it is like Agatha Christie isn't it? I mean you know who did it but it is the thrill of the chase and all her books are fantastic, I can't help but read them again," she replied with a smile.

"So you like espionage and mystery eh? Sounds good to me."

Alice nodded her agreement as the Doctor studied her closely for any signs of pain or concussion.

"So now that you are feeling better, care to explain how you managed to knock yourself unconscious?" he asked kindly.

Alice froze. How could she explain what happened? He would either think she was a lunatic or go to the police and you know what the people had said would happen if she told anyone.

But then she thought of that poor child locked underneath that crate and that heart wrenching, god-awful smell that had risen.

She made up her mind. She would tell some lie and get rid of the Doctor then she would sneak back down to the docks tonight. The cover of darkness was sure to be an advantage. She couldn't risk the Doctor finding out and coming with her, he would just double their chances of being caught.

"Oh um… I was pulling in a boat and… I… my foot slipped off the concrete and I fell and hit my head off of the boat," she lied not-so-smoothly.

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at her,

"Considering that your clothes and hair are bone dry, I don't quite believe you," he chuckled.

Alice scowled and looked away. The Doctor instantly sobered up.

"Did someone hurt you?" he asked, a glint of something- was it concern or anger in his eye.

Alice opened and closed her mouth struggling for something to say that would steer the conversation away from dangerous waters.

"Alice, look, you can tell me and then we can get it sorted out. I have some friends around here that might be able to help."

Alice nervously shuffled in her seat and tried again.

"Well I was going to the shed at work and… some idiot had left a r…" Alice fumbled with her _impressive_ lie.

"R…?" the Doctor pressed.

Oh God, she had suddenly forgotten every single word in the English dictionary beginning with the letter 'R'.

"Um… Uh… Rake."

She mentally slapped herself.

The Doctor just looked at her with a blank expression,

"That might be the worst lie I have ever heard in my 900 years."

Alice was too preoccupied with her predicament to pay any attention to the number the Doctor had just rattled off.

"Do you want to try that again, and bear it in mind that I know if you are lying," the Doctor said with a smirk.

Alice sighed in defeat. The Doctor might be able to help. He was a doctor after all.

"Fine. But you can't tell anyone. No one at all, agreed?" she asked. If he went to the police, her life was over.

The Doctor stiffened at this and sat up straighter. His face lost the soft smile that it had gained through Alice's rambling trips to nowhere.

"Are you being threatened?" he asked protectively.

Alice bit the inside of her mouth. She really didn't want to worry him but… he needed to know all of the facts if they were to help this child.

"Kind of," she mumbled.

The Doctors face became hard, his jaw set.

"Who, where, why?" he said seriously, staring directly into her eyes.

"It's kind of a long story," she replied, trying not to falter at his keen gaze.

"I have got more time than you can imagine."

Alice frowned at the strange sentence but put it to the back of her mind to concentrate on the task at hand.

"Okay so, I was closing up because we close up early on Sundays and the boats in section B get serviced later so all of the owners had to leave their boats. Anyway, I was just heading for the keys in the office when I heard a noise- like someone walking around in the boat next to me. So I shouted to see if anyone was their but there was no answer and then it sounded like a child's voice and it sounded like they were in trouble. I climbed up the rope and into the boat but there was no one there. I shouted again and the child's voice came from underneath the rug in the centre of the cabin. They were copying the words that I had said as well. So anyway, I bent down and peeled back the rug and there was a wooden crate sunk into the floor. And the smell… oh God that smell," Alice shuddered at the memory, "the child was down there so I pulled back the crate and was about to go down when someone grabbed my throat and the next thing I knew, I was unconscious. I managed to convince them that I had concussion and couldn't remember anything so they would let me go. They said if I remembered, and I told anyone, they would kill me," Alice finished quietly.

The Doctor's knuckles had gone white from gripping the armrest too hard.

"So let me get this straight," he said through gritted teeth, "These _people_ have kidnapped a child… kept them in a bunker in a boat, in horrible conditions and then… strangled you, knocked you unconscious and then threatened to kill you," the Doctor spat.

Alice bowed her head and nodded silently. She didn't know why she was so ashamed, she had done nothing wrong. The Doctor sensed her discomfort and forced himself to calm down.

"Right, we need a plan," he said.

* * *

Alice and the Doctor spent the next hour nibbling on rich tea biscuits and plotting.

Finally, after two whole packets of biscuits, the plan was set.

"Come on then, stage one," the Doctor said brightly, jumping up and heading for the door.

Alice went to follow him when her vision swam and she had to grab onto the arm rest to stop herself from falling. The Doctor grabbed her elbow to steady her and slowly lead her to the door.

"Let's get you to the TARDIS," he said with a hint of worry in his voice.

The stairs were proving more difficult than they first thought and by the time they had reached the bottom floor, the Doctor was supporting most of Alice's weight.

"So what is this TARDIS that you keep talking about," Alice muttered. Her spirits were slightly dampened by the pain that was resurfacing.

"You'll see. The main thing is that you will be safe in there," he replied mysteriously.

Alice chuckled at his evasiveness until a spark of pain shot through her skull.

"Ouch," she mumbled.

"We're nearly there."

They made a sharp turn down an alleyway. At the end was an ominous blue police box glowing. Alice stopped walking and stared at the box with fascination.

"It's… it's glowing. I mean, actually _glowing_."

"That's not the most exciting bit, now come on, the sooner I get you sat down and safe, the better," the Doctor said, his eyes darting around nervously. He went to lead Alice into the TARDIS but she still had her feet firmly planted to the floor.

"In there?" she asked in disbelief.

The Doctor nodded.

"_That _is the TARDIS?" she said incredulously.

"Yeah, why not?" the Doctor piped up defensively.

"But- but it's tiny!"

"Yeah, I get that a lot, now quickly, I'll explain later," he said, hurrying her through the doors.

Alice gasped.

"That's not- but that's… oh my… that is not possible!" Alice stuttered, looking wildly around her.

What she thought was a small wooden box, was actually enormous on the inside. Sandy coloured, coral shaped columns rose from the floor and in the middle was a control panel with various different buttons and gizmos. Steps led down to five different corridors leading to many different rooms, meaning that this _TARDIS _was even more enormous.

"It's bigger on the bloody inside!" Alice exclaimed.

"Really?!" the Doctor said in mock surprise, looking around as if seeing everything in a new light. Alice playfully swatted his arm.

"Oi, don't mock me!" Alice told him sassily.

The Doctor laughed and sat Alice down in the yellow seat in front of the control panel.

"Now stay sat down until I tell you to move. I mean it this time," he said sternly, "So yes, this is the TARDIS Time And Relative Dimension In Space. This ol' girl can take you anywhere in the universe, anytime."

Alice's eyes practically bulged.

"Oh my…" she was lost for words.

The Doctor watched her in amusement before announcing,

"Stage Two commencing."

He clapped his hands together and pulled out a paper pad from his pocket.

"Oh so this is the psychic paper?" said Alice excitedly.

The Doctor flopped down in the seat next to her and held out the paper.

"Watch."

Alice held the paper and watched in astonishment as ink flourished and swirled on the page before settling in the words-

**Mr Choggle Pot**

**Representative of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory.**

**Told yah Alice ;)**

**X**

"Oh my God!" cried Alice as she held the paper closer to her face, "How does it work?"

The Doctor sighed, "Oh way to take all of the fun out of life!"

Alice tutted and shook her head.

The Doctor then fished around in a compartment underneath the console and retrieved two ear pieces and some nerdy glasses.

"Right, pop this in your ear so we can hear each other and the camera is in the screw in these glasses and if I do this-" he tapped the console and whatever the glasses were pointing at, it was beamed onto television screen, "Brilliant! Okay, stage three is a go!"

The Doctor was just opening the door when Alice shouted,

"Doctor… be careful. I don't fancy stitching up _your _head."

The Doctor smiled gently.

"I will be fine."

And he ran out of the door. Alice fitted the ear piece in her ear.

"Doctor?" she spoke.

"Hello Alice!"

"Just checking that it works," Alice smiled softly. She really didn't want him to get hurt. If he did, it would be her fault and she couldn't bear that. The Doctor had been so good to her.

"Alice? You alright?" the Doctor's worried voice floated into her ear.

"Oh yeah, sorry, what were you saying?"

"I am just coming into the docks now," he said.

Something hit Alice,

"Doctor, you haven't got the key! Malcolm will have locked up at eight; it is now five to nine!"

"I have got it covered, it's fine."

"But how will you get in?" Alice frowned, didn't he understand.

"Just leave it to me Alice," he commanded in his firm tone.

Alice pulled herself up and shuffled over to the screen so that she could see what the Doctor was seeing.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a screwdriver. What was a bloody screwdriver going to do? Alice watched with wide eyes as it flashed blue and the chain fell from the gate.

"What the hell was that?" Alice breathed in amazement.

She practically heard the Doctor's smile as he told her, "Sonic screwdriver."

Alice nodded slowly "Sonic screwdriver, of course, silly me. You are so smug."

The Doctor laughed.

"Keep it down, they might hear you!" Alice fretted.

"Fine," the Doctor whispered.

Alice watched on the screen as the doctor lifted up his psychic paper and flashed it briefly at the security guard that was milling around. The security guard nodded once and led him to the boat that the child was in. Of course, there was still a chance that the child had been moved but it seemed highly unlikely that they would have been able to smuggle them out in broad daylight.

"Is this the boat?" the Doctor asked.

"Yeah," Alice whispered. She was slightly overcome by the memories of her experience earlier that day.

"Please be careful," Alice mumbled.

"That is the second time you have told me that Al'" he whispered back.

Alice felt a warm feeling inside her stomach. It had been a long, long time since someone had called her by a nickname (excluding the vile titles she was given by her colleagues).

The Doctor stepped onto the boat with his long legs and had to catch his balance as the vessel rocked.

"Not found your sea legs eh Doctor?" Alice teased.

She saw him shake his head in exasperation on the monitor. The Doctor lightly walked into the cabin and kneeled down to the tatty rug. Remembering the advice Alice gave him. He inhaled deeply and kept in his breath before lifting up the mat and the grate.

"Hello?" he called.

There were a few moments of silence where even Alice was holding her breath back in the TARDIS.

"Hello?" the child said.

So they were still there. That was a good start.

"Hello, I'm the Doctor. I'm going to help you," the Doctor started patiently.

"Help." The voice copied.

"Yes, to help you," he reassured.

He then proceeded to slide through the hole in the floor and drop with a small thud on the floor. It was pitch black, the darkness impenetrable and the Doctor and Alice felt a massive rush of sympathy towards the child trapped murky cellar. The Doctor pulled out a book light and shone it around the room.

The world seemed to stand still.

Packed tightly together in the dark, were millions of creatures, each the size of a forefinger. They were olive coloured with thousands of tiny scales covering their small bodies. Small spindly fingers sprouted straight from their figures and on their face was a single beady eye.

Suddenly, all of their tiny mouths opened and they all uttered the same word,

"Help."

All of their voices together, merged to make a high pitched voice. Hence the child assumption.

"Doctor, what are they?" Alice asked, her voice thick with emotion.

His face was unreadable, void of any hint of emotion apart from his eyes. They shone with grief and rage.

"They are the cruciari. They fell through a rift in space and time millions of years ago and made their home in the Earth's Crust under the seas."

"But why are they there?" Alice asked, feeling desperately sorry for the little creatures.

"Because mankind are selfish, egotistical and greedy," the Doctor snarled.

Alice flinched. He was really angry. The Doctor just stood there, in the same placid position, staring at the aliens, who stared back at him with pain etched onto their small faces.

"Doctor, I know you are angry, but we need to get the Cruciari back into the sea," Alice reasoned gently.

That seemed to have broken the Doctor out of his reverie as he balled up his fists and let out a breath.

"Right, so basically… we need to get the Cruciari back into the sea," he concluded.

Alice paused.

"You have basically just copied everything I have just said."

"Yeah well, it was a good plan," he shrugged whilst Alice smiled smugly.

The Doctor reached down his hand to around ten of the Cruciari and scooped them up.

"All of them need to go overboard so they can all swim back down to the crust," the Doctor said, looking around, "Blimey this is going to take a long time."

"Need some help?" Alice offered.

The Doctor shot up from his position on the floor,

"You stay exactly where you are Alice," he told her sternly before going back to his task on the deck.

Suddenly, a hand shot out from behind him and pulled him back, making him drop the Cruciari and attempt to wrestle against the strong arms that were holding him.

"Doctor!" Alice screamed in despair.

"Stay there, Alice," he mumbled feebly as his limbs got heavy and he sank to the floor.

"Like hell," she muttered and barrelled out of the TARDIS towards the docks.

* * *

The rain stung her face as she sprinted and her head was still throbbing horribly but she didn't slow down, not now that both the Doctor and the Cruciari were counting on her.

And, as much as she hated to admit it, she was revelling in the feeling. She wasn't the small, insignificant sixteen year old flunk who worked manual labour all day for the minimum wage. She wasn't just the girl who tethered up and cleaned your boat while you had a nice cup of tea.

She was Alice bloody Bowen, and God knew she was loving it.

She skidded to a halt at the gate and called over the security guard.

"Yes miss?" he asked gruffly.

"Hi, I am Alice Bowen, um I work here and I left my purse in the office. I am such a clot!" she lied smoothly, showing him her ID.

He nodded and opened the gate. He must have fixed the lock back on after the Doctor had sonicked it off.

Alice walked calmly over to her office and pretended to retrieve her purse. What she did retrieve in fact was a long metal crowbar that kept the makeshift desk up. She replaced the stand with an umbrella to stop the furniture from crashing down.

Alice peeped through the fogged up window and watched as the security guard turned the corner. She was in a blind spot. She ran as low down to the ground as she could and hid behind the corner of the boat. _The _boat.

There were noises of kafuffle and scraping from inside. Alice manoeuvred herself over the side and rolled in, careful not to make much noise since the men and the Cruciari were directly beneath where she was walking.

The hatch was already up and hushed voices floated up through the open gap.

Alice tiptoed lightly to it and leant over, crowbar in hand.

She was in the best position. Both men were picking up and fiddling with the Cruciari at the other side of the room, with their backs to Alice. The Doctor was semi-conscious, propped up against the wall.

His dreary eyes widened as he saw her and shook his head frantically, trying to make her go back. She just put her finger to her lips and motioned for him to stay silent as she held her breath, swung back the crowbar behind her head and brought it crashing down on the men's skulls.

The first fell instantly, him getting the full brunt of the assault. The second only got the tail end and it was not enough to knock him unconscious.

He made a grab for the bar as Alice jumped backwards away from him.

"I will hurt you if you don't get out of my way!" she shouted, trying to seem a lot braver than she actually felt.

The man smiled (well, more like bared his teeth) at her sickeningly.

"I would like to see you try."

"Well look what I did to your friend," she countered, nodding towards the unconscious form in the corner of the room.

At this, he made another launch for her which she countered by rapping him on the knuckles with the metal bar in her hands.

The man swore in pain.

"Maybe more than a friend?" she asked suggestively.

He ran at her again, only for her to duck his blow and kick him in the shin. She needed to wind him up. People make mistakes when they are upset.

"Oh, he would be so touched that his pet is defending him," she cooed.

The man growled in fury and dived on Alice.

This time, she was too slow.

His fist connected with her jaw at the same time that the crowbar connected with his cranium. Both fell back onto each other, one definitely dead.

Alice shut her eyes as her face began to swell and the wound from her head reopened, blood dripping down her face, mingling with the blood from the corpse that lay on top of her.

The last thing she could remember was the Doctor's frantic voice as he dragged himself over to her.

**So there you go. I think this is the longest chapter yet woo! Hopefully, we will either get onto the Runaway Bride or Smith&Jones in the next chapter but- who knows?! **

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